Wow! What a Week!

Even though this Thanksgiving was definitely different than our usual family packed ones..and I had anticipated a fairly uneventful week...that is not how things played out.

On Tuesday, daughter #3, her three kids and her 2 dogs arrived at my house ready to work. Even though I didn't have a lot on the to-do list that I needed their help with, the branches that Eta left on my roof and in my gutters on the side of the house that is totally over hung with the world's largest oak tree did need some attention. And, even though this was a chore that I could have handled even just a few years ago, with my vision and spine issues these days, it is one chore I have given up...and for good reason! Even if I could still safely get up on the roof, I never worked as quickly as those two boys. They got the roof and gutters completely done in no time and then suggested that I let them put my Christmas icicle lights from up there as well. And, that also went so much more quickly then doing it from the ground and going up and down the ladder a million times. There is definitely something to be said about youth!

And, after we were done doing all of that...and, I should have gotten a picture but I forgot, we went inside where Presley and I-well, mostly Presley-made the "famous" Indian corn treats. 

So, that was Tuesday. Wednesday was supposed to be the delivery of my new range coming in from Inverness. I waited for the call all day but it never came. I figured with the holiday and the sales, they might just be busy, so I was good.

Then, Thursday brings Thanksgiving. Even though this would have been a year where our entire family could have been together, none of us felt really comfortable with such a large group so we all just celebrated with our own family in our own towns. Since I am around daughter #3 and her gang all of the time, I felt safe going over there for the day...and a wonderful day it was! So good in fact that this is the only picture I took.

Her table was beautiful, the food was delicious and the company could not have been more fun. We pretty much spent the day talking, eating and playing games....which is pretty much the same thing we always do except with less people this year. Lol

So next comes Friday. Once again I am waiting for the phone to ring. When it doesn't, I decide that I will head to Lowes on Saturday morning to talk with my friend/salesman. Of course, before that, we have Harrison's quarter final game. We were happy to have Becky, Todd and Morgan join us as well...and even happier when Trinity Catholic swept the game 48/0! We're on to a tough semi-final game this Friday night but before that, we basked in the great win!

So, early Saturday morning, I am off to see my friend at Lowes. To make a really long, sad story short, he didn't know about any of the issues until about 15 minutes before I arrived. He did a computer search and the range that was supposed to be coming the short 30 miles from Inverness was no where to be found. His guess was that someone in that store sold it before it got loaded to send. here. I was fine with that until he then tells me that it looks like it will be well into 2021 before another arrives. If I hadn't fallen so in love with this particular range, I would have just gone and picked another. But, luckily, it pays to have friends as your sales person. He sent me home and told me he would work something out and boy did he ever. I got a call that night and early Sunday morning this beauty arrived. He sent me the one from the store. It is in pristine condition but he says when  if the new one arrives, we will swap it out if I want.

Now, do you want to see the real reason I fell so hard for this range? I will say, the fact that it has a larger than usual top oven doesn't hurt because I use the smaller oven almost exclusively when its is just me. But, truthfully, it was those knobs...which remind me of a gas stove which I always wanted and was promised I would have when this house was built but then the city never brought gas into the neighborhood...but, I digress...and that color! It reminds me of stoves I see on TV. Never mind that I have no idea how the thing bakes, what other features it has, etc. It Is PRETTY and once I saw it, I knew I had to have it!

So, I think that catches you up on me-whether you wanted to be caught up or not. I have spent five days getting my Christmas out, Thanksgiving put away and the tree decorated. I just have a few little tweaks and I will be ready to share. I will be back soon with the big reveal. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Let's Finish Up!

With the holiday fast approaching and my week ahead pretty well already booked with some fun things...not to mention Thanksgiving meal preparation...I figured I had better finish up this year's decor tour.  Let's head to the family room first.

This is my view every evening and it is so pretty when all of the candles are flickering. Unfortunately, I can never get a good picture of that...you'll just have to come and see for yourself!

I just love all of the colors of autumn...maybe because they fit in perfectly with the chippy, rusty look that I love so much as well?!

I was doing fairly well decorating these shelves until this month. They are so large and so deep-not to mention that just the size of the entire piece has such a huge presence-that small things just don't fill the bill. I am not entirely happy with how these turned out...hopefully I will come up with some better ideas by next year. I think my goal will be to find pieces of substance that I can use all year and simply just change the foliage or flowers. Then, I would only have to come up with accent pieces for each holiday/season...we shall see.

I will have to admit that, with so many people posting about jumping straight to Christmas decorating, I am getting a bit antsy to start as well. But, knowing myself as I do, I also know that I don't want to be celebrating Thanksgiving with Christmas decor all around me. And so, I will refrain from jumping the gun although, since the kids have this week off of school, I think my grandsons are going to come over and help with getting up the outside lighting. And, my grand daughter is anxious to come and get her world famous Indian corn made once again. Through all of the years of my grand children's lives, we have done hundreds of fun and fabulous projects but, it is always fun to see the ones that they remember the most and ask to do over and over. And, for Presley, the Indian corn treats are one of the most requested.

And, we now have yet another teenager in our family. Hudson turned 13 yesterday and we had a fun Gator game watching party! It was very low key because today he and several friends are off to Orlando for a day at TopGolf. But, it did have lots of yummy food and a favorite "Betty Cake"  ( a local bakery that makes the most delicious goodies ) so we were all happy.

I think it's time I get some lists made so I know where and when I have to be this coming week. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Stay safe and stay tuned.

2020 Can't Surprise Me Anymore!

 So this was supposed to be my big reveal. Everything was going exactly as planned. I got every phone call just when they said I would and the truck rolled up my circle right on time...all things just like clock work! I should have known. Lol

I showed the young man what they would be removing and then sat down while they went out to unpack the new arrival. It didn't take very long before he was back and asked me to come outside. He said "I think you might want to refuse this delivery". "Might" want to refuse? The entire top of the new appliance was crushed. I'm not sure how that is even possible with stainless steel...in a box...surrounded with packing foam...but, alas, it was.

And so, the purchase that just went way too smoothly had now hit a snag. The delivery service told me to call the store. So much easier said than done. I was on hold for over 10 minutes when finally someone came on the line and said they were busy with in-store customers. So, I figured I had better become an in-store customer quickly before everything was sold.

Off I went and although my friend, who I always purchase from, wasn't there today I had a very nice gentleman try to help me. Of course, no more at the store...no more at the warehouse. New delivery date was to be December 20. Oh well. But then he found one in Inverness. If all of the stars align, (and everyone does their job correctly) it will arrive here by Monday or Tuesday with "possible" delivery by next Friday. sigh

With everything else going on in the world, things like this really don't bother me any more. It was an accident. Everyone did the best they could to remedy the problem and, let's just say, it's a good thing I wasn't supposed to be making a Thanksgiving turkey! Lol

Just a minor set back. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Spoiler Alert! This is what it was supposed to look like...what a beauty. I can't wait!

Time Is Moving Quickly

 I just realized that Thanksgiving is less than a week away and I am still dragging my feet on the last of the 2020 decor. In my defense, we have had some super perfect autumn temperatures again and I have been drawn outside. Boy, did the heat of this summer keep me from keeping the weeds down in my gardens! I actually have most of them now done and waiting for mulch. The only thing left is the point on the other side of the pool and that will require not only weeding but lots of trimming of the hedges. That one will wait until next week...when I can stand straight again. Lol

And so, let's get into the dining room and sunroom today.

I'm so glad that I thought of putting the velvet pumpkins I made many years ago into the old box I made. For a few years I didn't even put the pumpkins out...and yet I held on to them for some reason...and, I guess this may be it. I still wasn't happy with the hard edges of the box so I bought some soft branches at HL and I like the way it now looks.

I sure wish I had put the date on this old embroidery. I actually had completely forgotten I even had it. Again, I'm really not sure why I held on to it because I had stopped displaying it years and years ago. I think I shoved it up on a shelf somewhere and just happened upon it when I was looking for something else. I have always wished that I had an old house with a walk-in attic so that I could discover lovely family heirlooms like they seem to do in all of the Hallmark movies but, this is probably as close as I will ever get to one of those moments.

In any case, the fabric is a little lot yellowed and I did stamped embroidery long before I ever started cross stitch...which was so long ago that I can't even remember...so, this piece is pretty old...a lovely family heirloom if you will. Lol

I also stopped regularly displaying the antique jugs but, somehow, even though my decor is no longer as "country" as it once was, these jugs just scream "autumn" to me. And, I'm glad I kept them.

Oh how I love the colors of autumn!

The sunroom is so hard to photograph because it is so long and narrow that I just kind of did a quick little nod to it this month.

I still love the little turkey photo holders that my grand daughters and I made for everyone as Thanksgiving gifts one year. The little cutie holding the letter "H" at her Pre-school Thanksgiving program and feast is the one who made this turkey. Gotta love his feet!

So that is that for today. I have a delivery coming tomorrow that I am so excited about...if all goes as planned...and I never count on things going exactly as planned in these Covid days. But, if it does, I will be back to share my surprise with you. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Next Up

With Thanksgiving coming quickly, I think I had better get back to our decor tour. Let's head into the kitchen.

I still enjoy using all of my Publix pilgrim people. They are still offering the salt and pepper shakers but I also have the spoon rest, mugs and a platter. Those pieces were offered a number of years ago but must not have been all that popular because they discontinued them after just a few years.

I love this cross stitch I made for my mom. When we lost her, it came back to me.

Doesn't it look better with the tag now? It's the little things. Lol

So that is the kitchen for this year. I'll be back with more. Stay safe and stay tuned.